Which video hosting platform is best for businesses? Vimeo vs YouTube
Where you host your business videos is just as important as the content if you want to achieve your marketing goals. So which video hosting platform is best? There are dozens of options out there, with the biggest being Vimeo and YouTube. But what’s the difference? Here’s everything you need to know about Vimeo vs YouTube to maximise your ROI.
Vimeo vs YouTube
We’ve talked before about the importance of video in business marketing strategies – by 2021 video will account for 82% of all consumer internet traffic. This is because people prefer watching how-to guides, product reviews, and entertainment in video format over the written word.
Vimeo and YouTube are top video hosting platforms with millions of monthly users. They both allow businesses to upload, store and deliver video content to their target audience. But there are important differences to consider when you’re looking at which is best for you.
As with all marketing and PR activities, the best option comes down to your objectives. Do you want to reach new audiences or deliver content to loyal customers? Is it essential that people can access your videos without advertising? Or is it more important for you to have good analytics tools for measuring success?
Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons to help you decide:
The best video hosting platform for reaching new audiences
Without a doubt, adding your videos to YouTube makes it easier for people to find on the internet. YouTube is the second largest search engine and videos uploaded to it also appear in Google search results, if optimised correctly. Read more about how to optimise YouTube videos.
On the flipside, videos on Vimeo don’t appear in search engine results. So the only way people can find them is if they have a direct link or they search Vimeo. If you know your target audience is active on Vimeo then you’re on to a winner here. There’s considerably fewer videos uploaded to this hosting platform and therefore much less competition for views.
The key is to know whether or not your target audience is on Vimeo. If they are not, then go with YouTube for maximum exposure in search results so you can reach more new customers.
The best video hosting platform for reaching existing customers
Once you have a loyal customer base you want to keep them engaged with regular video content. Some of this may be more relevant to customers interested in a particular product line or looking for an upgrade. Vimeo trumps YouTube by letting you target existing customers with content just for them. You can make videos available to a particular audience with password protection or solely through your website. This targeted publishing gives you better control of your brand message and who sees it.
Meanwhile, everything published on YouTube is publicly viewable.
The best video hosting platform for measuring success
The basic, free version of Vimeo cannot compete with YouTube for analytics tools. You have to upgrade to the Business or Pro version to be able to measure ROI effectively. As well as offering free analytics tools, YouTube also comes with free unlimited storage, which you have to pay for on Vimeo if you plan to upload a lot of content each month.
The best video hosting platform for ad-free viewing
All the free benefits of YouTube have to come with a cost – advertising. You have no control over the ads that are played before and after your videos. However, you can become an advertiser and gain some more exposure for your brand in this way.
Vimeo is totally ad-free so you know people accessing your videos will not be interrupted with other businesses vying for their time. For this reason, when embedding your videos into your website Vimeo looks much tidier and more professional.
Southampton-based marketing and PR agency Amplify PR offers video marketing services for businesses. If you’d like to find out more about the best video hosting platform for you or how to commission video marketing content for your business, then get in touch. We can also offer you tips on how to make video content with a smartphone.